Cracking the starting lineup as a sophomore guard is no big deal for Tinley Park’s Nolan Maciejewski. He has been there, done that at an earlier age.
As a freshman last spring, Maciejewski made the starting lineup for the varsity baseball team and often batted in the leadoff spot.
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He also learned some things that he carried into the basketball season.
“You just have to slow the game down,” Maciejewski said. “Play at your own pace. In basketball, I just want to distribute the ball, play with my team and come into the game with a game plan.”
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Maciejewski has not let himself get overwhelmed on the basketball court. And the pace he’s playing at now for the Titans is a fast one.
He scored 13 points Monday night to lead host Tinley Park to a 58-52 nonconference victory over Lincoln-Way West.
Indion Aurel added 12 points for the Titans (5-5), while Cameren Ellis had 11 and Amarion Johnson and Bernard McHerron finished with eight apiece. Johnson also had seven rebounds.
Jacob Bereza poured in 25 points for Lincoln-Way West (5-6). Tyler Gabriel scored 10 points and Eli Bach contributed seven points and seven rebounds.
Maciejewski plays fearlessly, according to Tinley Park coach D.J. Brown. He’s one of the primary ballhandlers for a team that wants its offense to be up-tempo.
“The kid’s got a bunch of moxie,” Brown said of Maciejewski. “He’s tough. He’s a stud baseball player, but he’s a competitor in anything he does. The kid can play basketball, and we’re happy to have him as our leader.”
Maciejewski has played basketball as long as he can remember. The sport provides him an outlet to have fun and let loose.
“It started with dribbling in the backyard with my dad (Mark), and I’ve played ever since,” Maciejewski said. “I just like that I can be myself on the court. I like to pass and I like to play at my own pace.”
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Maciejewski stepped up six points in the third quarter, scoring on a pair of drives to the basket late in the quarter to help the Titans increase their lead to 42-34.
“He’s good,” Ellis said of Maciejewski. “He’s a good passer and a good leader.”
Ellis rolled his ankle while being fouled with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. He was wincing in pain but stepped up to hit both free throws.
After leaving the game and getting treatment from the training staff, he returned to score four points in the fourth quarter. His basket on a drive gave Tinley Park a 49-41 edge with just over four minutes to go.
“My ankle was definitely hurting,” Ellis said. “But I just wanted to be here for my team.”
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Lincoln-Way West pulled within four points late, but Aurel hit three free throws in the final 25 seconds to seal the win.
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The Titans forced the Warriors into 18 turnovers.
“Give credit to Tinley Park,” Lincoln-Way West coach Tanner Mitchell said. “They played hard. But this was a tough game for us. This was one of our worst games of the season. We’ve been seeing pressure all year, so this wasn’t any different. We had some very uncharacteristic turnovers.
“(Bereza) was really good. When he gets to the basket, he’s a really tough guard. He jumps well, he finishes at the rim and he’s very smooth around the basket. But we needed that second guy to step up.”
The Titans, meanwhile, are back at .500 and looking for more. They’ll play next at the Big Dipper Tournament.
“We’re 10 games in and back where we started at 5-5,” Brown said. “We can do a lot of things well, but we just have to figure out what are the few things that we can do really well.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
